Synchronized star pairs unleash radio bursts via a Jupiter-Io-like mechanism

Automated news aggregation. Headlines and summaries are gathered from public feeds; see our editorial standards for sourcing, corrections, and AI-assist disclosure.

Researchers have helped unravel the mystery of why certain pairs of stars pulse with regular, long-period bursts of radio waves. The particular class of objects observed comes in pairs that always include a compact dead star, called a white dwarf, locked in orbit with an M dwarf, a red star smaller than our sun.